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Virgin and recycled PET bottles and textiles found to contain more than a dozen hazardous chemicals not intentionally added, and more than a dozen leachable plastic additives.

Minneapolis, MN — December 2, 2025 — A new study examining virgin and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET)—used to make beverage bottles, plush toys, and clothing—found these products contained dozens of hazardous chemicals and leached plastic additives into water. While virgin and recycled PET contained many of the same chemicals, some, like benzene, were found primarily in recycled PET bottles, suggesting the plastics recycling process may incorporate or generate new hazards.

The study, “Unpacking PET: Comparative Analysis of Leachable and Extractable Contaminants from Virgin and Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Bottles and Textiles,” appears in Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, and was conducted by researchers from Toronto Metropolitan University, the Ecology Center, and Wayne State University, and was co-designed and funded by the Alliance for Mission-Based Recycling (AMBR) and Defend Our Health.

The new study is notable in part because it showed known plastic additives that are persistent, mobile, and toxic leaching into water from a plastic touted as both safe and recyclable. This poses concern for leaching into aquatic environments, beverages, and laundry water. 

“Polyester clothes, stuffed toys, and plastic water and pop bottles are all made of PET,” said Dr. Gillian Miller, Senior Scientist at the Ecology Center and co-author of the study. “This study highlights the complex chemical mixtures that go into, and leach out of, these extremely popular plastics. It also highlights how recycling plastic can actually generate new contaminants.”

Researchers found that PET products—both virgin and recycled—contain and release chemicals associated with endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity, and cancer. Notably, recycled PET bottles consistently contained benzene, a known carcinogen, while both virgin and recycled samples displayed hormone receptor activity in bioassays, indicating potential endocrine-disrupting effects.

PET is one of the most commonly recycled plastics, and new minimum recycled content policies ensure demand for recycled PET will grow. But alarmingly, the new study confirmed what many in the environmental health and recycling sectors already suspected: that upstream design choices and cross-contamination among plastics can introduce new chemical hazards into the process or system, or consumer products.

“Recycling is not a detox system. Without regulation and redesign of plastic products, we are cycling toxic chemicals through our consumer goods again and again,” said Katie Drews, National Director of AMBR. “This research underscores why plastics recycling should be treated as a bridge strategy—not the end game. Ultimately, we need to phase out the use of toxic additives and chemicals of concern and transition to systems built around safer, reusable, and non-toxic materials.”

Mechanical recycling includes the shredding, cleaning, and melting of collected plastics. Research has found that contamination from problematic plastics like PVC can generate benzene during the heating steps of PET recycling. Unintentional chemicals may also form during mechanical recycling, and more research is needed to better understand these pathways.

“Policymakers must act,” said Emily Carey Perez de Alejo, President and CEO at Defend Our Health. “We need stronger regulation to keep dangerous substances like benzene, organophosphates, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals out of food and consumer packaging—whether recycled or not.”

Study Overview

The study examined 26 PET products, including water and soda bottles purchased in California and Michigan, as well as plush toys, pillows, and children’s clothing bought online and in stores. Researchers identified more than 30 contaminants across samples, including 12 persistent, mobile, and toxic plastic additives and six organophosphate esters that leached from the plastic or textile into water. Fifteen additional organic contaminants, many of them volatile organic chemicals, were also detected in the products by extracting with a solvent. Bioassays revealed multiple types of hormonal receptor activity in response to samples, including thyroid and estrogen interference.

Key findings include:

  • Toxic chemicals were found in both virgin and recycled PET bottles and textiles, including benzene, melamine, formaldehyde, ethylene glycols, benzophenone, aldehydes, and organophosphate esters.
  • Children’s textiles made from both virgin and recycled PET had distinct and concerning chemical profiles, with higher levels of formaldehyde, styrene, and chlorinated flame retardants compared to bottles.
  • Different regions of the U.S. showed distinct differences in chemical profiles of PET beverage bottles, indicating differing manufacturing chemicals used and a lack of standardization in PET manufacturing and recycling.
  • Endocrine activity was observed in PET extracts, suggesting hormonal interference that could impact human health.
  • Most of the chemicals detected are not currently regulated or required to be disclosed, despite widespread use in food packaging and consumer goods.

About the Partners: 

The Alliance for Mission-Based Recycling (AMBR) is a coalition founded by original pioneers of mission-driven, community-based nonprofit recycling in the U.S., Eureka Recycling, Eco-Cycle, Ecology Center Berkeley, and Recycle Ann Arbor. AMBR guides new recycling policies and infrastructure investments to rebuild credible, transparent recycling systems that support a sustainable circular economy and just, resilient local communities. For more information, visit ambr-recyclers.org.

Established in 1970, the Ecology Center Michigan is fighting for a just and healthy future for people and the planet. Working at the intersection of health and environmental justice, the Ecology Center conducts science to support communities and shift power to the people; educates to raise awareness and build collective strength; guides policy to scale solutions that protect health; organizes to help communities voice their right to a healthy future, and advocates for reducing waste and stopping the use of toxic chemicals. For more information, visit ecocenter.org.

Defend Our Health works to create a world where all people are thriving, with equal access to safe food and drinking water, healthy homes, and products that are toxic-free and climate-friendly. Defend works in Maine and nationally to protect human health and secure justice for people impacted by PFAS – the ‘forever chemicals’ that are destroying farms and drinking water supplies – and to prevent plastic pollution so as to protect human health, racial justice and climate progress. For more information, visit defendourhealth.org. 

Media Contact: Thea Hassan, thea@ambr-recyclers.org | 607-425-8066